Monday, December 28, 2020

Two easy Catskills hikes

I spent three days in the Catskills. Originally intended to be a week, I changed my plans for various reasons that proved fortuitous when a major storm wreaked havoc on the area the evening I left.

On the day I drove up, I broke up the drive with a stop at Onteora Lake. There are three trails there that are a part of the all-Catskills trail challenge, so I wanted to visit them. In the end, I didn't - I got distracted by the other loop trails, which I guess don't count as they are for mountain biking, maybe? 

Onteora Lake

The trail is quite popular, as it's near Kingston, relatively flat, and has excellent lake views, so no spikes or snowshoes were needed. The views of the lake, which come at the beginning of the hike, were excellent. The rest of the hike was through attractive woods.

I had hoped to do a second hike that afternoon, but the parking lot and driveway weren't sufficiently plowed, so on a whim I parked at nearby Olive Bridge dam. Honestly, it wasn't even clear to me that it was anything other than a parking lot, but there were other cars, and what looked like a view, so ...

The dam is the major one at the Ashokan Reservoir, and the top of it is open to pedestrians. Of course, it is flat and paved, and probably only a mile long. However, the views of the dam are spectacular.

Olive Bridge dam

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